Chapter 16: Catching Up

Madge flinches every time she hears her name on the broadcast. Margaret Undersee. No good has ever come of being referred to by her full name. It's what her father used to call her when scolding her for being too nosy. Is that what this is, but more serious? What would her father think if he could see her on these broadcasts the way she has been all morning, tarnishing the family name?

She glances at Simon, sitting next to her at the small table in front of a panel of TV monitors in their office. He's leaning forward and concentrating on the screen, absorbing all the warped information with a clenched jaw. When he notices her watching him, she looks down at the table quickly, embarrassed. It's her fault he's in this mess, and he seems to be just as flustered as she is about the gossip reports that they're a couple. And just as powerless to do anything about it other than glare down and yell at any of their coworkers foolish enough to insinuate there's the slightest validity to the gossip. A disturbing number of them exchanged knowing expressions when she and Simon turned up at work together this morning after security cleared the tabloids from the hallway between their apartments. If these people she sees everyday believe the gossip, does Gale? What does his family think? And her aunt and uncle?

The beeping on Simon's communicuff forces her to look in his direction again.

"Fiona's on her way," he says before slumping back in his chair, eyes still trained on the bank of monitors.

"Good. It's about time." They aren't allowed talk to the press; all statements have to go through their supervisor Fiona. It's been beyond frustrating to not be able to respond to all the untruths. Yet. Madge skims the list she started of all the corrections and clarifications they need to put into their statement; she can't wait to strike back.

Seconds later, Simon sits up straight again and Madge sees that his brother Edwin is giving another interview. He's been making the rounds all morning.

"Look," Edwin says into a microphone, "my quarry is a fine, upstanding business. I don't appreciate these people spying on us, but if it will get them off my back I'll gladly turn over all our records. I would have been happy to do so if they'd inquired." Madge thinks he sounds like he's sincerely regretful that nobody thought to simply ask him: "Hey, breaking any laws? Mind telling us which ones so we can lock you up?"

"Frankly," he continues in the same concerned tone, "I'm more alarmed that we as a country haven't learned from our mistakes. Limitless surveillance was wrong under Snow, and it's wrong now. I have to say, I'm concerned that President Paylor hasn't halted all surveillance until the new republic can be formed. I had high hopes for her, but this strikes me as a serious error in judgment."

He shakes his head sadly, as though to convey that he'd given her a chance to earn his respect, but she just wasn't up to the job. Madge scowls, aware that he's tapping into both the former Capitol loyalist sentiment that district residents have no clue how to govern and the district resident paranoia that the new government is no better than Snow. All beneath his veneer of concern for the country, which she's certain is disingenuous.

"How convenient that he suddenly doesn't want any surveillance," Madge mutters. "That couldn't possibly be because he has something to hide, could it?"

Simon looks at her and grimaces, confirming he shares her suspicions now. "He's always one step ahead… I wouldn't be surprised if he set up that quarry as a legitimate business, knowing you wouldn't be able to resist looking into it because of the link to your family. Perfect way to set you up, create a distraction, and get rid of the monitoring at the same time."

It doesn't feel like a victory to hear that Simon's assessment now aligns with hers when he's so obviously pained by the unfolding events. His brother even said in an earlier interview that he knew his "little brother" and "the spy" were "close" and that he felt bad that it looked like his brother's affections had been toyed with. Again, employing that same insufferable attitude that it was all just such a shame. Madge had wondered momentarily if his brother truly thought she was taking advantage of Simon somehow, but Simon cynically explained that it was a control thing—his brother probably still wanted Simon to join one of his business ventures and that getting Simon fired from his current job would be one way to do that.

She realizes that the interviewer asked Edwin something else and that he's speaking again, still wearing that disappointed expression.

"Yes, I'm afraid those rumors are true. President Paylor's government has been using evidence collected via surveillance in secret trials. I have several former colleagues who have been imprisoned as a result."

"What?" Madge hisses at Simon, only to see that he's just as bewildered as she is. She knows evidence they collected was used in the loyalty hearings and the public trials of former Capitol officials after the war ended, but she's never heard anything about secret trials. "That's not true, is it?"

He stares back at her, and she sees the hint of alarm in his eyes. As harmful as Edwin's statements have been, she hasn't actually heard him say anything blatantly false—he's just making implications she disagrees with. But the comment about secret trials was boldly stated, which makes her wonder what he has to back it up.

"Would anyone tell us?" Simon asks quietly. "If they're secret?"

"But why would your brother know about them and not us?"

"He knows everyone, Madge. The types of people who would be subject to secret trials, if there are any… And he knows loads of people in the government now, the ones who were low enough on the bureaucratic food chain to not be kicked out after the war because Paylor needed them to actually run things." Simon nods toward the TV screen. "I can guarantee you if he's saying this stuff on TV, he's been meeting with influential people behind the scenes, too."

The whooshing sound of the external security doors fills the air, prompting Simon to swear under his breath seconds before Fiona breezes into the room. She's wearing a tailored charcoal gray suit, crisply pressed without a wrinkle in sight, high heels clacking mechanically. She gestures for Madge and Simon to follow her into the large conference room, the one Madge hates because its oversized chairs and absurdly long table make it feel so intimidating. And now it will probably be the room where she gets fired.

Madge starts to pull out the chair next to Simon and across the table from Fiona, but he locks his foot around the chair's leg and subtly shakes his head at her. Oh, right. She tries to smoothly act like she was aiming to sit two chairs down from him the whole time and hopes Fiona didn't notice. Luckily, Fiona is busy skimming an assortment of papers she brought with her. After a few seconds she looks up.

"Margaret. Simon. It seems we have a situation." She's as unruffled as ever, reminding Madge how she survived for so long as a double-agent supporting the rebels from inside the Snow government: it's impossible to tell what she's thinking. "The President is demanding an inquiry into these events. You are both being put on leave until we can determine whether you acted improperly or not. Margaret, you were already on leave so fortunately this will not disrupt operations. Agent Peck is waiting in Conference Room Omega to take your statement and then he will escort you out of the building. Simon, I'll need you to direct me to all your records and your agents' field reports. Amos is waiting to be briefed so he can manage your duties in your absence while the inquiry is pending."

She looks back and forth between Madge and Simon, apparently waiting for them to stand up and obediently leave. But what she's saying doesn't make any sense to Madge, and a glance at Simon confirms that he's just as stunned as she is. They're being suspended? Both of them?

"Simon hasn't done anything," Madge says slowly, tackling the most obvious problem first. "I'm the one who lost the notebook that started this whole mess."

Fiona seems vaguely annoyed that they haven't departed already, but she merely purses her lips together for a moment before speaking. "As your supervisor, Simon has responsibility for your actions. Though his own actions are troubling in their own right, given how long he took to recuse himself from the file involving his brother." She turns her steely gaze on Simon. "Not to mention the appearance of impropriety regarding your relationship with one of your agents."

"But we're not—" Simon sputters.

"When it comes to conflicts of interest, appearances matter," Fiona says sharply. "We talked about this when you were promoted, Simon."

"This inquiry is an overreaction," Simon says forcefully. "We're on the bad end of a successful distraction campaign. If we tell our side of the story and explain how the surveillance is helping us catch lawbreakers and prevent crimes—"

"Obviously I agree that what we do is valuable," Fiona interrupts. "But you underestimate the force of the public outrage. And, more relevantly: you have no knowledge of the degree of internal dissatisfaction our program is facing from the President and her advisors."

"So defend the program," Simon counters. "We can help with that. Like with that mill owner in District 7. The man from the quarry was making it sound like we did something horrible, but all we did was audit the mill. And it passed so that was the end of it! That's how the process should work."

"And," Madge adds, "it really seems like someone from Edwin's business vandalized the army jeep and stole my stuff. To set me up and orchestrate getting rid of all the surveillance—"

"We have no evidence to support that theory, Margaret. The quarry is clean. The vehicle was broken into while parked in a public area, resulting in the loss of sensitive items that should not have been there to begin with. The notebook was returned to the only name identified within its pages. Whatever the sequence of events, Mr. Barker and his local partner in District 2 have made a convincing case publicly about harassment by surveillance, triggering protests in multiple districts. We cannot afford this type of instability."

"What about the secret trials?" Madge asks. "Wouldn't it be easy to announce: 'There are no secret trials, don't be ridiculous.'"

Fiona doesn't respond right away, looking back and forth between Madge and Simon. Her hesitation makes the unease in Madge's chest grow… maybe there are secret trials. Maybe evidence she's helped collect has been used in them…

"Margaret," Fiona finally says, "It's not as simple as appearing on television and saying 'just trust us' that all information collected is being used responsibly. Suspicions are high and our credibility is low, thanks in large part to your poor judgment. A thorough inquiry is the best way to convince the President and her advisors of the value of our program."

Madge sits back in her chair, realizing in that moment the trap she's been caught in and unwilling to say anything else that might hurt her or Simon. It sounds like Fiona is preparing to sacrifice them for the sake of the surveillance program, getting ready to paint them as rogues tangled up in personal dramas just like they're being portrayed on the tabloids. How they could be forced to take the fall for secret trials they don't even know about, Madge can't even guess, although maybe someone else is getting in trouble for that part of it…

Fiona slides her papers back into their folder and stands up. "Your access cards, please."

She's holding out her hand across the table in a pose that for one surreal moment seems helpful, like she's offering her assistance to her troubled employees. But then the cold efficiency of the gesture sinks in. Madge looks over at Simon and sees his expression reflecting the same realization she has: this is really happening.

#

Gale picks up the phone and starts dialing again, but like the previous attempts, hangs up before the call connects. He couldn't get through to Greasy Sae or Haymitch, which leaves Katniss and Peeta. It feels wrong to call Peeta instead of Katniss, but he can't risk triggering Katniss to relapse into whatever mental fog engulfed her after the war… Should he ask his mom to call them?

Did he really just think that? Since when does he run to his mom with his problems? He can dial a damn phone number. He's going to. Right now. Right…

It's ringing. He tries to clear his mind of everything other than what he'll say: Hi Peeta, this is Gale. I wanted to warn you that the gossip rags may start pestering you and Katniss. Madge Undersee is in their crosshairs and it's only a matter of time before they uncover her connection to Katniss.

"Hello?"

It's Katniss. He freezes for a second, positive he dialed Peeta's phone number, not hers. Squinting at the display, he sees that he did. So Katniss is answering Peeta's phone? Are they living together now? What if Peeta is still a jacked up mess of Capitol-inspired nightmares? Gale thought he was improving, but how can they truly know if he's stable enough—

"Hello?" Katniss repeats impatiently. "Haymitch, this isn't funny anymore—"

"Katniss?"

He hears her inhale sharply in surprise. And then there's silence on the line, but it's not a broken connection—just Katniss being still. He knows the sound of Katniss being still better than nearly any other type of quiet, although hopefully right now it doesn't mean she's going to go into a catatonic state…

"Katniss, it's Gale," he says, trying to keep his voice steady. He closes his eyes and tries to pretend they're in the forest together back home and he's telling her about some hazard he noticed—a snake sunning itself or a patch of nasty brambles. He's just Same Old Gale warning her about something he momentarily has superior knowledge of. Not Unfamiliar New Gale calling from thousands of miles away to re-open old wounds.

"I'm sorry to call," he starts, but that's something New Gale would say because he knows he isn't welcome in her life, even by telephone. He tries to get back into Old Gale mode. "I need to warn you: the tabloids may start bothering you again. They're targeting—"

"Why are you calling Peeta?" Katniss asks sharply.

It sounds like an accusation, and Gale isn't sure if she means why is he calling Peeta instead of Katniss, why is he calling Peeta at all, does he have a history of calling Peeta… With a pang he realizes he can't tell what she's thinking.

"I didn't want to upset you," he finally says.

"I'm fine, you don't all need to treat me like this, I'm not…"

He can hear her voice breaking and her breathing becoming uneven; she can't even finish her sentence. He should have had his mom call. What was he thinking?

Some shuffling sounds fill the earpiece and then he hears Peeta's voice. "Who is this?" Peeta demands, sounding much gruffer than Gale remembers.

"Gale." He waits for the tirade to start, and when it doesn't he wonders if Peeta realizes Gale was calling Peeta's number to spare Katniss this trauma. He quickly spits out his canned speech, the one he intended for Peeta's ears. Thankfully, Peeta listens quietly.

"What kind of trouble is Madge in?" Peeta asks.

"Just turn on your TV." Gale doesn't want to dignify any of it with an explanation. "Tabloid channels."

"We don't have TVs anymore. We smashed them."

The same idea has tempted Gale many times… Today especially. He's jealous Katniss and Peeta could carry out the impulse.

"She's accused of being a spy," he says carefully. "The tabloids are digging into her history. It won't be long before they find references to her in those profiles of you and Katniss after the Hunger Games."

Peeta doesn't respond for a few seconds, and then asks, "Is she a spy?" When Gale doesn't answer, Peeta adds, "She knew where all the microphones and recording devices were hidden in our houses… But she also helped us get rid of everything. Is she a good spy? Is there such a thing?"

Gale doesn't know what he is and isn't allowed to say about Madge's job and doesn't even know what she's actually done other than what he witnessed himself on their hike… Better not to say anything.

"Just be careful with your phones and around town," he advises.

"Yeah, OK. Is Madge going to be all right? Is there anything we can do to help her?"

"I don't know." Having a plan to get Madge out of this would require understanding what she'd been doing in the first place.

He wants to ask Peeta how Katniss is doing, but he doesn't want to treat her like more of an invalid than he already has. And he could hear for himself that she's not great, although Gale could have been the trigger for that unsteadiness. It's probably a good thing they don't have TVs.

He's about to say good-bye when he hears more shuffling and then Katniss back on the phone.

"You'll help her, won't you, Gale? Remember when she brought you that morphling?"

He's momentarily stunned that Katniss feels the need to make a special request, as if there might be some question that he wouldn't help Madge. Until he realizes Katniss has no idea he and Madge were friends in 12. He may have even been sort of rude to Madge before he got to know her…

"I'll do whatever I can for her," he says.

After hanging up, Gale sits at his desk and stares at the blinking flashing light on his phone that indicates he has a message. He wants nothing more than to unplug the phone, hurl it out the window, and march up the nearest mountain, away from all of this. Well, and to grab Madge to take her with him. And his family. And the Whistlers and fine, Zipper could come, too. But Madge needs him here, and when it occurs to him that that blinking light could be her, he presses the code to listen to the message.

Not her. But close: it's Perri calling from the Capitol to let him know that Madge has been suspended pending some kind of investigation into her actions so she's bringing Madge back to District 2. Gale can meet them at the Whistlers' house later today.

Gale doesn't like the sound of an investigation; it sounds like the kind of thing that presumes Madge did something wrong. And even if he thinks she might have taken her spying too far, he knows she was well-intentioned and whoever is "investigating" her might not understand that. Assholes.

As he's stewing, he hears an uneven sound texture in the distance. Voices? Choppy yet rhythmic, punctuated by loud bursts. He follows the noise into the hallway, where a crowd of Reconstruction Committee members and their staff are gathered at the hallway's other end near the security gates, peering through the windows at what appears to be a large crowd of people. Walking forward, Gale realizes that the voices belong to the crowd, engaged in a large-scale demonstration centered on the front entrance of the building—a sea of bodies and hand-held signs on sticks fill the windows. The signs are too far away to read and whatever the people are shouting is too garbled to make out. But he can feel the purity of the disorganized anger even from inside the building.

One of Committee Member Douglas' young assistants notices Gale's confusion and moves to stand next to him. "People are mad about the spying," he explains in a friendly tone. Gale frowns at him, wondering why the guy is acting like they're friends all of a sudden. They're the same age, but they're definitely not friends and Gale is still sore this jerk assistant helped Douglas take over Gale's land distribution project. "They want the committee to do something about it," he adds.

"That's stupid," Gale says, turning to look back out the windows. "We only make recommendations." President Paylor and all the actual government offices are still in the Capitol for this interim period until a new government can be formed.

The guy shrugs. "We're closer."

True. If the people of District 2 wanted to raise a racket, this would be the place to do it. Watching the crowd, Gale feels acutely that he's on the wrong side of the glass, like he should be out there doing the yelling. The soldiers keeping order on the front stairs—soldiers Gale knows and has worked with and respects—look similarly uneasy, most not even holding their weapons at the ready. But the crowd's anger hasn't crested into violence; they're just angry. Venting, the way he used to in the forest when he could be sure Katniss and the birds were his only audience.

"I'm surprised you're here," the assistant says. "Sounds like you're pretty cozy with the spy."

Gale tries to suppress his flinch. And his instinct to shove this punk into the wall. At the same time, there's a certain relief to knowing something he's been dreading is actually happening because he doesn't have to wait any longer: apparently his connection to Madge is out now. Which also means that they could have figured out where he lives... He spins on his heels; he needs to check on his family.

Back at his desk, he punches in the phone number to his apartment. Vick answers after only one ring.

"It's me, what's going on there?"

"I'm taking messages for you, Gale," Vick says proudly. "Your phone rings a lot. I thought your machine would fill up again, so I've been writing everything down."

"Did Madge call?"

"No, but other people have. Some of them are rude. I marked those messages with a big 'R' so you can pretend to lose them later if you want. You can blame me, it's all right. They'll just think I'm a little kid."

When did Vick learn how to be conniving? Gale is going to have to keep an eye on him, although it's a relief to hear that Vick doesn't sound especially freaked out about anything. "Vick, let me talk to Mom."

His mom gets on the phone a few seconds later. "Gale, your neighbor is awful. He made some very offensive comments about you and Madge to those tabloid people, implying you've been giving her confidential government information in exchange for—. Well, he's a terrible human being."

Gale couldn't agree more. "He's full of shit."

"Language," she says automatically, but Gale doesn't care; it's not like Posy overheard through the phone.

"Practically everything I do for work is public," he says dismissively. The seduction-for-secrets angle is absurd. Even the quarry's land request application that Madge snuck a look at was a public document, not confidential in any way. The gossip shows will probably swoon for whatever juicy soundbites his sleazy neighbor provided and Gale sure as hell isn't going to let the guy get away with any of it, but for now he has more pressing concerns. "Are any of those jerks hanging around outside the apartment?"

"There's a van in the parking lot. I don't know that we should meet you for lunch, dear. Posy gets so anxious around the cameras."

"Don't come here," he agrees, fairly certain that she's once again understating Posy's reactions. And that crowd out front could turn hostile fairly quickly… He knows what he needs to do. "We can go to Madge's aunt and uncle's house to get away from all this." Perri had suggested it before she left for the Capitol, since Madge's connection to them would take longer to discover. He briefly tells his mom his plan and then asks to talk to Rory about the rest of it.

"You didn't look so hot on TV this morning," Rory says when he takes the phone, smugness lurking in his tone. Gale bites back a retort, looking forward to having a normal relationship with Rory again so he can actually fight back instead of taking these insults. But they're not there yet and he knows he deserves much worse, so he keeps his mouth shut.

"Rory, I need you to get Mom and the kids out of there."

"Okay," Rory says quickly, sounding almost like the eager-to-please shadow Gale remembers from simpler times. Excluding him from being categorized as one of "the kids" is the magic ingredient for Rory cooperation. Gale quickly runs through his strategy for Rory to get everyone to the outdoor gear store where they bought the sleeping bags—what was it, only yesterday?—since the owner will let them use the back door. Then Gale, after arranging for the jeep to be dropped off at work instead of home, can sneak out a back door and get them out of this zone of vulnerability.

"Don't leave until those jerks in the parking lot are out of the way," Gale warns. "They'll probably be coming up here soon for the televised committee meeting this afternoon. Got it?"

"Easy," Rory says confidently. He pauses for a second and then asks, "What's going on with Madge? Is she in trouble?"

It's the first time since arriving in District 2 that Rory's called Madge by her name, which feels like progress of a sort. But it's a small comfort compared to the fact that from every angle Madge does appear to be caught in one hell of a mess.

"Looks that way, doesn't it?"

A/N: Gale and Madge get to see each other in the next chapter. It was supposed to be this chapter, but I had to move it, sorry! I know this chapter is kind of in between one... sometimes those have to happen in a story. Thanks for reading and for being patient about the wait since the last chapter—I've been writing ahead to make sure I don't leave things out that I need for the ending, which is getting closer.